Any casual visitor to Ossington, especially those visiting the Lower Ossington Theatre for a show, will have noticed The Abandoned Barbie Project at 100 Ossington. No more gawking at the Barbies in odd poses in the window. The tenant’s lease is up and all the contents of the space are being auctioned off beginning Sunday, June 8.
It’s an interesting story: a part-time psychotherapist can’t stop collecting, rents a space on a derelict street, and stores all his “stuff,” including countless Barbie dolls. He calls it an art gallery – the Ulterior Design Gallery – but it’s never open. Pedestrians make do by staring at the assortment posed in the window.
Dr. Sheldon Wagner tells the Toronto Metro in a print article in today’s edition that his lease is up and the rent has doubled – no surprise – he’s been in the space 9 years. The good news for us is, we can finally go inside! The art gallery that never opened is now closed for good, but 100 Ossington will open on Sunday morning for an auction.
The auction starts this Sunday at 10:30am and runs all week at 100 Ossington. You can go early at 9am on Sunday for the viewing. Our suggestion: Go with friends and see how many Barbies you can count.
There’s so much stuff in there that it’s going to take a week of auctioning starting this Sunday. Head over before dinner at one of the local restaurants and pick up some of Sheldon’s collectables. Here are the hours from the auctioneers’s website.
SUNDAY JUNE 8TH STARTS 10:30 AM (VIEW 9AM)
MONDAY JUNE 9, START 6-9 PM (VIEW 5PM)
TUESDAY JUNE 10, START 6-9 PM (VIEW 5PM)
WEDNESDAY JUNE 11, START 6-9 PM (VIEW 5PM)
THURSDAY JUNE 12, START 6-9PM (VIEW 5PM)
FRIDAY JUNE 13, START 6-9PM (VIEW 5PM)
SATURDAY JUNE 14, START 10:30AM – 6PM (VIEW 9AM)
SUNDAY JUNE 15, 10:30AM-6PM (VIEW 9AM)
Check out the video from the Toronto Star below.
And so we all don’t forget, here are some more pictures of some of the window displays:
Thank you for uncovering this mystery!